Kamil Lhoták
Kamil Lhoták | |
---|---|
Portrait of Kamil Lhoták by Karel Kuklík, 1960s | |
Born | (1912-07-25)25 July 1912 Prague, Austria-Hungary |
Died | 22 October 1990(1990-10-22) (aged 78) Prague, Czechoslovakia |
Nationality | Czech |
Known for | Painting |
Kamil Lhoták (25 July 1912 Prague – 22 October 1990, Prague) was a Czech painter, graphic artist, and illustrator. He was one of the members of Group 42.
Biography
Kamil Lhoták was born on 25 July 1912 in Prague-Holešovice. His mother, Anna Kouglová, met and befriended young medical student Kamil Lhoták at the ball in Žofín. The couple never married but, they produced one child from their long-term relationship. Unequal social status and fears of damaging his career led Lhoták's father to hide his illegitimate son.[1] However, he financially supported him and his mother his whole life. Lhoták Sr. was involved in viral research and experimented with the serum against poliomyelitis. During a rare visit with his family, he infected his young son with this disease.[1] The effects of poliomyelitis deeply influenced Lhoták's health. The relationship between Lhoták father and son was complicated and traumatic.[1]
Thanks to his mother, Lhoták became familiar with painting and literature at a young age. He was particularly fond of the works of Jules Verne, Edouard Riou, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. His early artworks were influenced also by modern technical inventions; he often created drawings of cars, motorcycles, and bicycles.
In 1932 he began his studies at Jirásek Gymnasium in Prague. Together with his classmate he published "Auto-moto zpravodaj" (Auto-Moto News) and later he participated in publishing school magazine "Hledání umění". He also often visited the expositions of modern art in Aventinum.
Following his graduation at the gymnasium he continued studying at the Faculty of Law of Charles University. Even during these studies, he devoted himself to painting rather than law.[1]
In 1938 he married Hertha Guthová, and a year later he organized his first exhibition in Beaufort Gallery in Jungmannova Street.[2] In 1940 he became a member of the art association Umělecká beseda.[2] During the World War II Lhoták created hundreds of artworks, and he also helped to establish the significant Czech art association Group 42. The first exhibition of the group was organized in 1943. According to Czech painter Libor Fára, one of Lhoták's presented paintings, "Dcera velkoměsta" (Daughter of a City), later caught the attention of Pablo Picasso at the exhibition in Paris.[3]
In 1954, Lhoták began his collaboration with writer Adolf Branald. Together they created a book Dědeček automobil (Grandfather Automobile). Lhoták later considered his illustrations for this book as his best works.[3] A year later, in 1955, they cooperated on the production of the film Dědeček automobil.
In the 1960s he met Anna Endrštová, who became his model and life partner. During the 1960s and 1970s he increased his work activities, annually creating a large number of paintings and book illustrations and also helping with exhibitions. His paintings from that time are influenced by modern art and op-art. He also took inspiration from the works of Roy Lichtenstein.
Lhoták continued his work in later life, creating in 1990 his last painting, "Meteor padá do moře" (Meteor Falls to the Sea). He died on 22 October 1990 in Prague.
Style
Lhoták was an entirely self-taught painter, and he developed his style in an individual and original way. His paintings are based on a specific poetic view, and it is almost impossible to classify them into art genres. Technology and its inventions from the beginning of the 20th century, and particularly the pioneering inventions of motoring, aviation, and the railroads became his main source of inspiration. In his works, Lhoták also included the motives of the Prague periphery. Despite the dreamy atmosphere and poetic character, Lhoták's paintings retain strong reference to the real world and remain solely figurative.
Lhoták's style was significantly influenced by poetry, and especially by the works of Czech poets Jan Hanč and Ivan Blatný, fellow members of Group 42. During the years he adapted his style to various modern trends, but he managed to maintain his originality and specific artistic expression. He intentionally used some elements of naïve art and his works are well received for their directness and understandability.
Selected exhibitions
- 1967 - Haus der Tschechoslowakischen Kultur, Berlin
- 1969 - Mahlerstraβe Gallery, Vienna
- 1977 - Galerie Kniha, Prague
- 1980 - Dům umění, Zlín
- 1986 - City Gallery Prague
- 1987 - Old City Town Hall, Prague
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Kamil Lhoták - životopis" (in Czech). galerieart.cz. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ^ a b "Kamil Lhoták" (in Czech). ArtBohemia. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ^ a b "Kamil Lhoták - historie" (in Czech). Czech Radio. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
Further reading
- Augustin, L. H. (2000). Kamil Lhoták (in Czech). Prague: Academia. ISBN 80-200-0818-7.
External links
- Kamil Lhoták - Prague Art & Design
- Kamil Lhoták or Comfort in the Machine (Moravian Gallery in Brno)
- Kamil Lhoták - Internetová Galerie Nova umění (in Czech)
- Kamil Lhoták - GalerieOnline.cz (in Czech)
- Můj otec Kamil Lhoták (My Father Kamil Lhoták) - a book by Lhoták's son. (Kosmas.cz)
- Pražská informační služba (Prague Information Service) (in Czech)
- Museum of Art Olomouc (in Czech)
- v
- t
- e
- 1964: Oto Bihalji-Merin
- Jan Kott
- Stanisław Lorentz
- Lucijan Marija Škerjanc
- 1965: Tudor Arghezi
- Manolis Hatzidakis
- Emanuel Hruška
- Zoltán Kodály
- László Németh
- Hugo Rokyta
- Hristo Vakarelski
- 1966: Ján Cikker
- Dezső Dercsényi
- Zlatko Gorjan
- Aleksander Kobzdej
- Anton Kriesis
- Niko Kuret
- Dimiter Statkov
- 1967: Iván Fenyő
- Vladimír Kompánek
- Witold Lutosławski
- Spyridon Marinatos
- Alexandru A. Philippide
- Mihai Pop
- Svetozar Radojčić
- 1968: Constantin Daicoviciu
- Roman Ingarden
- Miroslav Krleža
- Ludvík Kunz
- Anastasios Orlandos
- Lajos Vayer
- Pancho Vladigerov
- 1969: Jolán Balogh
- Albín Brunovský
- Bohuslav Fuchs
- Mihail Jora
- Marijan Matković
- Ksawery Piwocki
- France Stele
- 1970: Jan Białostocki
- Jan Filip
- Zoltán Franyó
- Milovan Gavazzi
- Gyula Illyés
- Yiannis Papaioannou
- Zeko Torbov
- 1971: Jiří Kolář
- Blaže Koneski
- Georgios Megas
- Kazimierz Michałowski
- Mihail Sokolovski
- Zaharia Stancu
- Bence Szabolcsi
- 1972: Dragotin Cvetko
- Atanas Dalchev
- Branko Maksimović
- Gyula Ortutay
- Jaroslav Pešina
- Henryk Stażewski
- Virgil Vătășianu
- 1973: Veselin Beshevliev
- Stylianos Harkianakis
- János Harmatta
- Zbigniew Herbert
- Eugen Jebeleanu
- Petar Lubarda
- Jan Racek
- 1974: Władysław Czerny
- Ivan Duichev
- Ivo Frangeš
- László Gerő
- Stylianos Pelekanidis
- Ján Podolák
- Zeno Vancea
- 1975: Józef Burszta
- Hristo M. Danov
- Stanislav Libenský
- Maria Ana Musicescu
- Gábor Preisich
- Pandelis Prevelakis
- Stanojlo Rajičić
- 1976: Jagoda Buić
- Marin Goleminov
- Ioannis Kakridis
- Dezső Keresztury
- Nichita Stănescu
- Rudolf Turek
- Kazimierz Wejchert
- 1977: Nikolaos Andriotis
- Riko Debenjak
- Emmanuel Kriaras
- Albert Kutal
- Máté Major
- Krzysztof Penderecki
- Anastas Petrov
- Ion Vladutiu
- 1978: Eugen Barbu
- Đurđe Bošković
- Kazimierz Dejmek
- Stoyan Dzudzev
- Béla Gunda
- Jiří Hrůza
- Yiannis Spyropoulos
- 1979: Magdalena Abakanowicz
- Ferenc Farkas
- Zdenko Kolacio
- Atanas Natev
- András Sütő
- Pavel Trost
- Apostolos E. Vacalopoulos
- 1980: Gordana Babić-Đorđević
- Iván Balassa
- Kamil Lhoták
- Manousos Manousakas
- Vera Mutafchieva
- Alexandru Rosetti
- Wiktor Zin
- 1981: Emil Condurachi
- Sándor Csoóri
- Stefka Georgieva
- Dimitrios Loukatos
- Vjenceslav Richter
- Eugen Suchoň
- Elida Maria Szarota
- 1982: Athanasios Aravantinos
- Ana Blandiana
- Vojislav J. Đurić
- Sona Kovacevicová
- Aleksandar Nichev
- Jan Józef Szczepański
- Imre Varga
- 1983: Władysław Bartoszewski
- Géza Entz
- Jozef Jankovič
- Gunther Schuller
- Zdenko Škreb
- Stefana Stoykova
- C. A. Trypanis
- 1984: Emilijan Cevc
- Konstantinos Dimaras
- Karel Horálek
- György Konrád
- Constantin Lucaci
- Krasimir Manchev
- Krzysztof Meyer
- 1985: Branko Fučić
- Růžena Grebeníčková
- Adrian Marino
- Demetrios Pallas
- Károly Perczel
- Simeon Pironkov
- Andrzej Wajda
- 1986: Georgi Baev
- Tekla Dömötör
- Boris Gaberščik
- Konrad Górski
- Johannes Karayannopoulos
- Jiří Kotalík
- Anatol Vieru
- 1987: Roman Brandstaetter
- Doula Mouriki
- József Ujfalussy
- Vladimir Veličković
- Velizar Velkov
- Gheorghe Vrabie
- 1988: Roman Berger
- Christos Kapralos
- Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga
- György Györffy
- Donka Petkanova
- Mieczysław Porębski
- Edvard Ravnikar
- 1989: Maria Banuș
- Ákos Birkás
- Jerzy Buszkiewicz
- Václav Frolec
- Nikolai Genchev
- Petar Miljković-Pepek
- Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis
- 1990: Liviu Calin
- Bronisław Geremek
- Aris Konstantinidis
- Dejan Medaković
- Virginia Paskaleva
- Adriena Šimotová
- András Vizkelety
- 1991: Maja Bošković-Stulli
- Gerard Labuda
- Andor Pigler
- Yorgos Sicilianos
- Emil Skála
- Marin Sorescu
- Stoimen Stoilov
- 1992: Manolis Andronikos
- Jenő Barabás
- Blaga Dimitrova
- Stefan Kaszynski
- Jiří Kořalka
- Zmaga Kumer
- Jon Nicodim
- 1993: Vasilka Gerasimova-Tomova
- Petro Kononenko
- György Kurtág
- Jerzy Tchórzewski
- Răzvan Theodorescu
- Elena Várossová
- Māra Zālīte
- Dionysis Zivas
- Viktor Žmegač
- 1994: István Borzsák
- Dževad Juzbašić
- Ștefan Niculescu
- Andrzej Szczypiorski
- Jitka and Květa Válová
- Takis Varvitsiotis
- Zigmas Zinkevičius
- 1995: Sándor Kányádi
- Mirko Kovač
- Milcho Lalkov
- Michael G. Meraklis
- Mindaugas Navakas
- Wisława Szymborska
- Jaan Undusk
- 1996: Tamás Hofer
- Karel Hubáček
- Konstantin Iliev
- Marin Mincu
- Jože Pogačnik
- Pēteris Vasks
- Marian Zgórniak
- 1997: Tasos Athanasiadis
- Bogdan Bogdanović
- Oskár Elschek
- Ferenc Glatz
- Lech Kalinowski
- Jaan Kross
- Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin
- 1998: Imre Bak
- Andrei Corbea-Hoișie
- Eliška Fučíková
- Ismail Kadare
- Justinas Marcinkevičius
- Dorota Simonides
- Elena Toncheva
- 1999: Svetlana Alexievich
- Vera Bitrakova-Grozdanova
- Mircea Dinescu
- István Fried
- Henryk Górecki
- Dževad Karahasan
- Ferdinand Milučký
- 2000: Ján Bakoš
- Ivan Čolović
- Nikola Georgiev
- Imre Kertész
- Milan Kundera
- Karolos Mitsakis
- Arvo Pärt
- 2001: Yurii Andrukhovych
- Janez Bernik
- János Böhönyey
- Maria Kłańska
- Marek Kopelent
- Andrej Mitrović
- Evanghelos Moutsopoulos
- 2002: George Demetrius Bambiniotis
- Māris Čaklais
- Péter Esterházy
- Radost Ivanova
- Nedjeljko Fabrio
- Aurel Stroe
- Lech Trzeciakowski
- 2003: Vasil Gyuzelev
- Drago Jančar
- Károly Manherz
- Stanisław Mossakowski
- Ales Rasanau
- Ludvík Václavek
- Ana Maria Zahariade
- 2004: Theodore Antoniou
- Michał Głowiński
- Dušan Kováč
- Fatos Lubonja
- Éva Pócs
- Kazimir Popkonstantinov
- Romualdas Požerskis
- 2005: Károly Klimó
- Hanna Krall
- Primož Kuret
- Jiří Kuthan
- Andrei Marga
- Eimuntas Nekrošius
- Krešimir Nemec
- 2006: Włodzimierz Borodziej
- Nicos Hadjinicolaou
- Gabriela Kiliánová
- Ene Mihkelson
- Vojteh Ravnikar